马生角 — “An absolute impossibility”
马生角 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “an absolute impossibility”. Something that can never happen or is utterly beyond the realm of possibility. Literally, “Horse grows horns”.
马生角 Pronunciation and Pinyin
马生角 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 马生角
Origin and Story of 马生角
During the late Warring States period, the Qin and Yan states outwardly maintained friendly relations, each sending a royal prince to the other as a hostage.
Prince Dan of Yan was a hostage in Qin, where King Ying Zheng treated him with great rudeness and disdain.
Prince Dan requested permission from King Zheng to return to Yan, but King Zheng retorted that he would only allow it when a horse grew horns and a crow turned white.
Prince Dan eventually escaped back to Yan and later dispatched Jing Ke to assassinate King Zheng.
Idioms Related to 马生角
Synonyms of 马生角
More idioms starting with 马
- mǎ马shàng上gōng功chéng成achieve success quickly, often by military conquest
- mǎ马shàng上qiáng墙tóu头a romantic rendezvous spot
- mǎ马shàng上dé得tiān天xià下win an empire on horseback
- mǎ马shàng上fáng房zi子overtly agree, covertly oppose
- mǎ马shàng上kàn看huā花to observe things superficially
- mǎ马bù不tíng停tí蹄advancing tirelessly without stopping
- mǎ马bù不jiě解ān鞍to work without rest
- mǎ马zhōng中guān关wǔ五typographical or scribal errors
- mǎ马yǎng仰rén人fān翻utter chaos and confusion
- mǎ马rù入huà华shān山universal peace and tranquility
- mǎ马dào到gōng功chéng成achieve instant success
- mǎ马dào到chéng成gōng功instant success
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Open the tool →Questions about 马生角
What does 马生角 mean?
马生角 (mǎ shēng jué) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “an absolute impossibility”.
How do you pronounce 马生角?
马生角 is pronounced mǎ shēng jué in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 马生角 literally mean?
Literally, 马生角 means “Horse grows horns”. It is used to mean “an absolute impossibility”.
Where does 马生角 come from?
马生角 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 马生角?
乌鸦变白，马头生角。比喻不能实现之事